1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a computer-based system and method for managing a person's medical and personal emergency information.
2. Related Art
In the area of health care in which the number of patients typically outnumber the number of doctors, there is a growing need for personal management of a person's medical history and present medical status in order to avoid confusion and mistakes by health care personnel. For example, in an emergency situation in which a patient is under stress or impaired, it is desirable that the patient have a printed record carried on their person carrying critical information which can be read by emergency personnel. Also, it is desirable for the client to include medication information which can be read by the emergency personnel.
Several patents disclose personal anatomy cards including a machine readable storage medium. U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,182 describes a personal anatomy card in which a card is sized for carrying on the individual. A machine readable storage medium stores human anatomy information used for medical treatment or personal identification. A data player which is external to the card or integrated in the card views the stored data.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,236,332 and 3,921,318 describe a medical record card having indicia visible to the human eye for critical emergency information and having indicia visible by use of a microfilm reader for detailed personal identification data and medical history data. The above described patents have the draw back that a display or data reader device is needed for accessing medical history data making substantial portions of the information unavailable to emergency personnel not having access to the data reader and the medical history information is also unavailable for home use by the individual.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,096 ('096) describes a computer based system and method for generating a medication management display. A plurality of medication names prescribed for a patient with corresponding strengths attributes and alpha numeric medication symbol attributes are entered into an electronic database. An electronically stored correlation list is then accessed to associate the alphanumeric symbol attributes to graphic symbols. The information is arranged to generate a patient medication chart displaying one or more medication names associated with its corresponding strength, directions and graphic symbol. Adhesive graphic symbols are applied to the original medication containers that hold the medications to cross-reference the actual medications with the chart. The patient medication data may also include administrator's comments. The '096 patent has the limitation of being cumbersome to understand and not including emergency information or detailed personal information which information is critical in emergency situations.
It is desirable to provide a home medical management system capable of producing a report integrating medical history information, personal information and medication information on a one-page, one-sided, printed record visible by the naked eye which can be used on a daily basis to assure safe and correct administering of prescription and non-prescription drugs and can be used in an emergency situation, which report can be easily updated and displayed as a hard copy.